Door-operating mechanism



1,625,250 Aprll 19 1927' FERGUSO DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM Filed May 1. 1925 Patented Apr. 19, 19.27.

UNETEE STATES FFECE.

THOMAS M. FERGUSON, OF STILLWATER, MINNESOTA.

DOOR-OPERATING MECHANISM.

Application filed May 1,

The present invention relates to means for opening and closing doors and principally hinged garage doors.

The object of the invention is to produce an apparatus, positive in its operation, efficient and reliable, and yet simple in its construction and relatively cheap to manufacture and install.

With the above and numerous other ob jects in view as will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in certain novel features of constuction, and in the combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a transverse vertical section through a garage looking toward the doorway, and showing my improved apparatus associated therewith, and

Figure 2 is a horizontal. section taken substantially on the line 22 of Figure 1 looking downwardly.

Referring to the drawing in detail it will be seen that A designates a garage having the door way B with the two doors 0 hinged therein as at 5. A vertically disposed shaft 6 is ournaled in a bracket 7 supported above one door in the door way B. On the lower end of this shaft 6 there is journaled a sprocket 8. A similar bracket 9 is mounted on the inside of the front wall of the garage above the other door and has journaled therein a shaft 10 having fixed to its lower end a sprocket 11, and to its upper end a pulley 12. A shelf 13 is mount-ed in any suitable manner on the side of the garage adjacent the front wall, and supports an electric motor 14 which may be brought into operation by closing the switch 15. This motor may also be brought into operation by a vehicle operated switch located both inside the garage, and outside thereof so that it will be unnecessary for the chauffeur of the automobile to get out in order to cause the door to open. Such switches being well known in the art. the same have not been shown in the drawing. A pulley 15 is mounted on the shaft of the motor 14 for being rotated thereby. A belt 16 is trained over the pulley 15 and over the pulley 12 so as todrive the sprocket 11 when the motor is ener gized. A drum 17 is associated with the shaft of the electric motor 14, and has dis- 1925. Serial No. 27,245.

posed thereabout a contractible brake band 18 operable by pulling downwardly on the member 19.

A pitman 20 is attached eccentrically as at 21 to the pulley 8, and to the adjacent door a distance from the hinge 5 as at 22. A similar pit-man 23 is pivoted at one end eccentrically to the sprocket 11 as at 24 and at its other end to the adjacent door as at 25 a distance from the hinge 5. A chain 26 is trained over the sprockets 8 and 11. "When the doors C are closed as shown in Figure 2, the pivots 21 and 24 are disposed adjacent each other. By energizing the motor 14 the sprockets 8 and 11 will be rotated simultaneously for disposing the pivot points 21 and 24 on oposite sides of the shafts 6 and 10 respectively, thereby causing the door to be swung to an open position. The motor, of course is then stopped. By continuing the operation of the motor it will be seen that the pivot points 21 and 24 may be brought back to the position shown in Figure 2 and thus the doors will be swung to a closed position.

It is thought that the operation, construction, advantages of the invention will now be clearly understood without a more detailed description thereof. It is apparent that numerous changes in the details of construction, .and in the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed or sacrificing any of its advantages.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is In combination, a building having a doorway, a pair of doors hinged in the doorway, brackets above the doorway, shafts journalcd in the brackets one to each side of the center of the doorway and between the sides thereof. sprockets on the lower ends of the shafts, a chain trained over the sprockets, a pulley on the upper end of one of said shafts, a prime mover supported above and to one side of the doorway and including a pulley, a belt trained over the pulleys, and pitman rods connected eccentrically to the sprockets and engaged with the doors adjacent their hinged edges.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

THOMAS M. FERGUSON. 

